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Merlin
Background Merlin is a legendary figure featured in many medieval histories and romances, usually associated with King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. In The Land of Stories series, Alex and Mother Goose enter the story of King Arthur and meet Merlin, who is training Arthur and preparing him for his future as king of England. Appearance & Personality ''"An old man with a long silver beard and thick silver eyebrows appeared in its place. He wore glasses, a blue robe, and a matching pointed hat."''TLOS IV, ch 21, p. 281 Merlin can turn himself into a bear to train Arthur in combat skills. Mother Goose traps him with magic to save Arthur, not knowing Merlin isn't a real bear, and when the spell is broken, rather than being upset about the interference, Merlin congratulates her on a brilliant piece of magic. He is also able to enchant a mop, bucket and broom to clean up the house by themselves.A little wink, perhaps, to the iconic scene in Disney's Fantasia where Mickey Mouse enchants a mop, bucket and broom with somewhat disasterous consequences : https://youtu.be/Rrm8usaH0sM?t=162 Merlin is fascinated with the story Alex and Mother Goose tell him about the different dimensions and travelling between stories. Merlin has visions of the future, not just about Arthur's fate, but about many other events, people and inventions. In his house, he has a lot of sketches of modern things he has seen 'from the future'. He has a lot of fun comparing his predictions to Mother Goose's experiences from all the centuries she's lived.TLOS IV, ch 21, p. 287 He shares Mother Goose's affinity for drinking. Relationships Merlin has a past with the Lady of the Lake, Nimue. He says they were never together, and she trapped him in a cave for a month against his will; Nimue calls him her lover and claims it was romantic. TLOS IV, ch 24, p. 337Nimue treatens to harm Alex and Arthur unless Merlin comes back to her. When he grudingly agrees in order to save them, Nimue fails to keep up her part of the deal and tries to harm them anyway. Mother Goose steps in and evaporates the entire lake.TLOS IV, ch 24, p 340 After spending two weeks with Mother Goose while Alex prepares the Portal Potion, Merlin and Mother Goose have fallen in love, and Mother Goose chooses to stay with him. Story 1. The Wishing Spell - 2. The Enchantress Returns - 3. A Grimm Warning - 4. Beyond the Kingdoms Merlin meets Mother Goose and Alex when they 'fall into his story'. He connects with Mother Goose on a romantic level and she stays with him when Alex goes back to the Land of Stories to fight the Masked Man. 5. An Author's Odyssey Merlin appears briefly in a chapter of An Author's Odyssey, he and Mother Goose are still together and are trying to encourage Merlin to continue with his training and move on from Alex. Quotes ''"To think, this world exists in others as a fable. It endorses my theory that 'we are all but characters in the books of God's library.' Or perhaps someone else said that and I'm forgetting who. The best part about predicting the future: I'll always say it first."''TLOS IV, ch 21, p. 287 References Category:Humans Category:Magical Category:Recurring Category:Heroes Category:Male Category:Minor Characters Category:Arthurian Characters Category:Characters from Beyond the Kingdoms Category:Characters from An Author’s Odyssey Category:Characters from Worlds Collide Category:Adults